Introducing the LCD-i3

[Maximiliano Campo]

owning both i cannot agree at all. the quality and tightness of the bass in the i3 is miles ahead of the raptgo. you can feel it reaching down your spine like a sharp sword, while raptgo is simply a muddy overblown blob without defintion. same with treble and imaging. its absolutely no comparison and i am really not an audeze fanboy. for example my old gen 1 lcd2 with the fazors right after they came out with it was nothing but a shouty mess in the upper mids, with zero soundstage plus impossible to wear for more that 20 minutes before head and neck pain kicked in. also the recent lcd5 is one comedy show in a headphone, specially compared to the okish lcd4. they must have thought for what ever reason, that soundstage isnt a thing at all, so lets skip that part. so in fact i am quite the opposite of a fanboy, but the i series is a rare marble that might have fallen out of another dimension, because otherwise i cannot get behind how out of all the manufacturers it was Audeze who figured it out. Its soundquality you wont find else where. i am listening to them with a straight cable plugged in and without any eq. in case you are curious. they have a hint of colouration in the mids as usual for Audeze, but it only sounds off, when directly compared to a headphone with proper timbre in the mids. the brain adjustes very fast and accepts the slight weirdness and you´re good to go.

Yeah, man. please ignore my foolishness from back then. I said some pretty suspect things and honestly I'm properly embarrassed at that. I was young, starting out and thought I knew stuff, I know now I don't.

I can be a man and admit this. My bad, everyone.

The Raptgo Hook X is okay, but correct it's not on the i3 level. I know better now and what to listen out for.

Respect.

 

[sofastreamer]

Yeah, man. please ignore my foolishness from back then. I said some pretty suspect things and honestly I'm properly embarrassed at that. I was young, starting out and thought I knew stuff, I know now I don't.

I can be a man and admit this. My bad, everyone.

The Raptgo Hook X is okay, but correct it's not on the i3 level. I know better now and what to listen out for.

Respect.

dont forget to have fun

 

[Death_Block]

Man, I had the LCDi3 back in the day, sold them a couple of years back. My ears just weren’t seasoned like they are now, I wasn’t clocking the subtle differences in frequency, the resonances, all that fine detail like I do now. Growth is real.

Fast forward, I’ve been dabbling in the high end game, dropping stacks on IEMs in the £1k to £3k range. My current rotation’s headlined by the Final Audio A8000.

But in all that, the LCDi3 stayed on my mind. None of the IEMs I’ve tried, even the semi-open ones, hit me with that epic soundstage - width, depth, that spaciousness between instruments, that the i3 delivered. It’s like a level no one’s touched.

So when I saw a deal for £350, I had to run it back. Been two weeks with them now, breaking it down, analyzing every nuance of the sound. And man, I was straight-up dumb for letting these go. The LCDi3 is on another level.

Back then, I got caught up in the chatter—folks talking about how they had to be EQ’d. So instead of vibing, I was stuck chasing EQ profiles. Rookie move.

Now, running these stock, 3.5mm cable straight into my Astell & Kern CA1000 and Hifiman Serenade DAC, no EQ it’s like I’m rediscovering them. They’re beyond what I remembered.

Only downside? The hooks are poor, kept breaking on me. Had to buy 10 extra pairs like a maniac. But for this sound? Worth it.

Now to climb to the i4

 

[Maximiliano Campo]

Now to climb to the i4

Certainly, shall I send my bank account details here to send the money to fund it, or via Inbox ?

 

[Sound Eq]

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/audeze-sine-cipher-lightning-dac-cable-for-iphone-ios.76366/
Maybe?

anker its not in stock, i bought another brand although it says in title for audio but it did not work

why cant audeze point out other brands to use with iphone 16 pro max

@Audeze

 

[Maximiliano Campo]

Pretty much every headphone in the world (not just Audeze headphones) will have some non-linearities. Several solutions are used in almost all headphones (Cross over, Damping etc). DSP is one additional tool kit that is available if people want to use it. We have said this several times before.

We design the headphone to make sure we can achieve the best tonal balance, impulse response, staging etc without using any external processing. However, if customers can get better performance with additions..why deprive them of the option ? We don't design a headphone saying..we can fix it with DSP. We design headphones to ensure we can get the best out of a particular design.

Take a look at SonarWorks. They provide curves for mastering engineers for almost every headphone model. You can try their trial version to see how DSP changes the FR for almost every headphone.

Thank you.

 

[Maximiliano Campo]

A used i4 is only around €3-500 more than a used i3. These iems really don't have have driver failure from all finding I've seen. Mine has lasted 4 years. The difference between the 3 and 4 once you correctly use auto eq 20-6000hz is about 25% improvement in performance. The i4 is far more effortless in its presentation than the 3, much like the lcd4 is once corrected. Its like the difference between a almost spotless window, and no window at all. Like the driver is completly imperceptible, or is ethereal like a E-stat. None of these iems should be used without serious EQ like a qudelix. Their defult FR's are abominable, but the i3s is noticeably better than the i4. Like going from a E to a D+. Technical performance wise, it's going from a S- to a S+. For such a small difference on the used market, that is worth the jump every time, but absolutely not for $1500 more brand new. Its not that large.

Any i4 sites ship to the UK? If so could you list me some sites which sell used i4's please?

 

[Long Vo]

Any i4 sites ship to the UK? If so could you list me some sites which sell used i4's please?

There's one from U.S listed here right now

Everyone has been right about getting the crucial personal fit to truly appreciate the LCD-i4, I struggled for two months and finally settled with Beyerdynamic Xelento 3XL with slightly bent ear hooks (using a hair dryer w/ nozzle to heat up the ear hook then immediately mount on each side and hold it in place to my ear).

I'm pretty sad that my right side has this paper/foil wrinkly sound upon touching the grill cover which never goes away. And when I'm using some heavy bass lift PMEQ (i4Punchy below) I can hear something isn't right.. Otherwise stock Reveal PMEQ reverse-engineered by oratory1990 has been sounding great.

i4Flat

Preamp: -6.7 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 74 Hz Gain -0.7 dB Q 1.800
Filter 2: ON LSC Fc 105 Hz Gain 6.0 dB Q 0.700
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 144 Hz Gain 0.6 dB Q 2.020
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 213 Hz Gain -3.1 dB Q 0.180
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 1038 Hz Gain -6.9 dB Q 0.680
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 1730 Hz Gain -9.1 dB Q 2.150
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 2572 Hz Gain 9.8 dB Q 0.410
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 7226 Hz Gain 2.8 dB Q 2.370
Filter 9: ON HSC Fc 10000 Hz Gain -7.1 dB Q 0.700
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -0.5 dB Q 2.450

i4Reveal (by oratory1990)

Preamp: -9.5 dB
Filter 1: ON LS Fc 135 Hz Gain 6.8 dB Q 0.50
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 1350 Hz Gain -0.6 dB Q 1.50
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 2900 Hz Gain 8.9 dB Q 1.90
Filter 4: ON HS Fc 3000 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 0.70
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 8000 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 0.80
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -7.5 dB Q 3.2

i4Punchy
Preamp: -16.2 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 21 Hz Gain 7.5 dB Q 1.000
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 50 Hz Gain 12.0 dB Q 0.500
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 860 Hz Gain -5.9 dB Q 1.800
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1540 Hz Gain -5.8 dB Q 2.000
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 3200 Hz Gain 5.3 dB Q 1.700
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 4000 Hz Gain 12.0 dB Q 0.500
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 5200 Hz Gain 3.9 dB Q 1.500
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 7000 Hz Gain -2.0 dB Q 2.000
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 8800 Hz Gain -2.7 dB Q 0.500
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 12000 Hz Gain -2.0 dB Q 2.000

 

[Maximiliano Campo]

This might sound crazy, I've spent 3 days with the LCD-i4, and for the genres I listen to, I prefer the LCD-i3.

Strange thing to say considering every person I've heard and read say the opposite.

Can't have been a faulty i4, as its brand new sealed from a trusted UK retailer linked with Audeze.

£899 for i3. £2495 for i4. I'm not hearing a difference to justify.

Listened off Astell & Kern Sp1000. Astell & Kern CA1000, Hifiman Serenade and Chord Dave. FLAC and DSD.

The LCD-i4 has lower distortion, which makes it technically more accurate.

However, over the i4, to me the i3 has some harmonic distortion, which actually makes instruments and vocals sound richer and more natural to my ears.

The i3 is also more visceral sounding to me, and fun to me. Key words - to me.

The i4 has a wow factor in details, but to me sounds more boring than i3.

Only to me.

 

[etroze86]

This might sound crazy, I've spent 3 days with the LCD-i4, and for the genres I listen to, I prefer the LCD-i3.

Strange thing to say considering every person I've heard and read say the opposite.

Can't have been a faulty i4, as its brand new sealed from a trusted UK retailer linked with Audeze.

£899 for i3. £2495 for i4. I'm not hearing a difference to justify.

Listened off Astell & Kern Sp1000. Astell & Kern CA1000, Hifiman Serenade and Chord Dave. FLAC and DSD.

The LCD-i4 has lower distortion, which makes it technically more accurate.

However, over the i4, to me the i3 has some harmonic distortion, which actually makes instruments and vocals sound richer and more natural to my ears.

The i3 is also more visceral sounding to me, and fun to me. Key words - to me.

The i4 has a wow factor in details, but to me sounds more boring than i3.

Only to me.

Bump the bass on the i4 it'll come alive a bit more. Also keep in mind the lcdi3 is closer to an LCDX and the i4 is kinda between a LCD3 and LCD4. Meaning the i4 will have an overall smoother sound but eq's like a champ.

 

[Death_Block]

Yeah sounded dull to me when I first got it. 2400 and meh!! But after playing around with it for a long time, it just got better and better

 

[Maximiliano Campo]

Yeah sounded dull to me when I first got it. 2400 and meh!! But after playing around with it for a long time, it just got better and better

Thanks.

I sent my i4 back for a full refund. I can't justify keeping it or applying EQ to boost the bass when the i3 in stock is superb.

I have the Final Audio A8000, which resolves as well as the i4, as transparent and same level of fidelity.

I'll buy the Ibasso DX340 with the i4 refund money and get an ISN EBC80 also. I'll treat my wife to a holiday with the money left over.

Much better option to me.

 

[st4r0c3an]

Does anyone have any good PEQ profiles to use with this? Something similar to the LCDi4 one shared above but for LCDi3. I enjoy the Reveal plugin a lot when I'm at my desktop but would love to be able to use this with my Q5K as well. Thanks.

 

[pmvaldon]

where is an USA website that sells a new lcdi4? thanks

 

[Maximiliano Campo]

Hey all, I can't find the Isine20 threads so if it's okay to post this here, if it can help anyone, or just general discussion if anyone agrees with me?

My 2025 take on the Audeze iSine 20 — For Those Who Want to Be Swamped in Sound

I just picked up the Audeze iSine 20. Let me tell you, these are something special. People online talk a lot about how they need EQ. Yes, they respond to EQ beautifully. But the truth is, they already sound incredible without it when paired with a proper source. I use the Astell and Kern CA1000, and straight from the 3.5mm cable these things come alive.

What strikes me is the soundstage. It’s not in your head like most IEMs. It’s around you. Above you. Wide and deep. Notes don’t just appear. They arrive. They come from a large sphere outside your head and body. I’ve owned the Final Audio A8000 which I love, but even that doesn’t do what this does. The iSine 20 is in a different space.

The background is black. The transparency is wild. It feels like a blank canvas and you’re the painter. You can shape the sound exactly how you want. And when you dial in EQ, it’s pure bliss.

Here’s what I do: I raise sub and mid bass by 3dB I lower the 2.5 to 3k region by 2dB I soften the 6 to 8k range by 1dB
All with parametric EQ. It takes it clean and easy.

I got mine for £200 in like new condition. They easily compete with IEMs worth five times that. The sound is big. It’s spacious. It punches and it breathes. It’s both grounded and airy. Dynamic and delicate.

This is not just an IEM. This is a mini headphone experience. If you want to be surrounded by your music, not just listen to it, this is it.